Tabloid
Issue #8
by Tom Zjaba
Chapter Eight
Hard Choices
Frozen with fear, the King and Batboy watch as the giant
alligator heads at them. The massive jaws are now wide open and the dagger sized
teeth are prominently on display. They both want to run, but their feet feel
like they are nailed to the ground. Every muscle in their bodies is tense and
refuses to respond. The alligator moves even closer as it sloshes through the
water. Before the great reptile can devour the paralyzed pair, their survival
instincts take over. Batboy fights the paralysis that has taken over his body
and has been induced by fear and shoots his gun at the coming beast. While the
rest of his body ignores his pleas, his finger does pull on the trigger and
sends a laser into the mouth of the gator. With the creature being so huge and
taking up the vast majority of the sewer tunnel, it is almost impossible to
miss. The laser tears into its mouth and sends a shower of blood streaming from
the wound and filling its mouth. The pain causes the beast to halt its march and
it closes its massive jaws as the pain shoots through its mouth. This seems to
be what the doctor ordered as it shakes both of them out of their shock and soon
they are shooting the gator with everything they have. Each fire of the laser
guns hits the beast and burns a hole in its scaled skin. Blood is pouring out of
its mouth and now the top of its head and its right leg. The beast shakes its
head back and forth, running it into the sides of the sewer. This shakes the
whole sewer and sends pieces of concrete flying off the walls. They both
continue their assault and keep shooting the wounded creature. Shot after shot
hits the gator and causes more damage to the hulking beast. This forces the
creature to back up and try and avoid the attack. The creature flounders around
as it tries to turn around in the tight tunnel. When it finds that it cannot
turn around, it backs up as fast as it can. But well placed shots to the legs
make they give out and soon the beast finds itself trapped on its belly. A few
more shots to the head and the creature succumbs to its wounds. It lets out its
last gasp for air as its head sinks into the muck. The dark, filthy water floods
over its snout and fills its nostrils. The two guys look at each other and then
jump up and down in celebration. They hold their guns above their heads and
scream out. The have faced the beast and they are triumphant.
Madeline looks down at the creature as it scales the wall and
heads towards her. She rubs her twisted ankle, hoping she can make it better.
What she would give for a nice sized rock to drop on its head. She looks around
the roof, but does not see anything that would make a suitable projectile.
Knowing that the creature will kill her as soon as it gets to the roof, she
decides that she better get as far away as possible. She starts running, as well
as she can on her tender ankle, to the other side of the roof. She looks for a
door or anything that would allow her to get into the building, but she does not
see anything. There is nothing on the roof but an antenna and some pigeons. She
runs to the other side and looks down. She was hoping there would be another
fire escape for her to climb down, but she doesn't see one. The next building is
too far for her to jump. She looks over her shoulder as she hears a sound. She
sees the creature pulling itself up on the roof. What can she do now? She is
stuck on a roof with a evil creature that is looking to disembowel her. She
looks around and sees something that may help. There is a thick wire connected
between the two buildings. Probably a phone or electrical wire. She hopes it
isn't an electrical one. It looks safe as there are pigeons sitting on it. She
looks back over her shoulder again and the creature is now completely on the
roof and in the process of getting to its feet. She looks one more time at the
wire, which is a few feet down. She folds her hands and prays really quick. The
she jumps down and grabs the wire with her hands. As she grabs it, she swings
back and forth and the wire shakes. While it is thick, it was not meant to have
people climbing on it. She is almost tossed loose by the shaking wire, but she
is able to hold on. She then pulls her legs up and wraps them around the wire.
She makes the mistake of looking down and it scares her. Below her is another
alley and a very hard ground. She knows that if she falls, she will probably die
or at least break some bones. This is enough incentive to get her moving as she
starts pulling herself across the wire towards the other side. As she gets about
halfway across, she looks back and sees the creature at the ledge. It is looking
at her as she is hugging the wire for dear life. The creature then bends over
and grabs the wire and shakes it. She hangs on tight as she is shaken hard. Her
one hand comes loose and she almost falls off, but she is able to hold on and
quickly grabs the wire with both hands. She then starts to move again but with
more determination. She has to get to the other side before this creature pulls
the wire out of the side of the building. The creature sees her moving across
and it decides that it will do the same. So it climbs out onto the wire and
starts moving across. As it steps onto the wire, the weight of it makes the wire
sink. Feeling this, Madeline looks back and sees the creature coming towards
her. She feels her pulse racing as she realizes that the creature is faster on
it than her and even her head start may not be enough. She tries to speed up,
but there is only so fast she can go and the creature is gaining on her fast.
She prays for a miracle as she knows the end is near. At that very moment, her
prayers are answered. While not the way she would plan it, she does get a break.
The wire is strained from the weight of both of them and it pulls from the wall.
This sends her and the creature flying as the wire pulls from the wall and the
momentum of both of them makes it swing, sending both of them crashing into the
wall of the opposite building. A great crash as they both go face first into a
brick wall. Both Madeline and the creature are knocked out from the blow and
both let loose of the wire and fall to the ground below.
Up ahead is a light shining down into the sewer. The King and
Batboy work their way towards the light. As they get near, the come across the
ladder that once was connected. It is now a tangled hunk of metal that is juts
out of the water. The look up to where the light is shining down and see a hole.
"Anyone up there?" King screams out as he cups his hands to make a megaphone.
"Hello! Anyone?" he shouts again. They see movement up above but they cannot see
who it is. As he prepares to yell again, something covers the hole and the
lights goes away. "What do we do now?" the King asks as he looks at Batboy. "I
guess we look for another way out of this sewer." he says as he continues
walking. "I was afraid you were going to say that." the King says as he follows
him.
On the surface, DB Cooper moves a car over and parks it right
on top of the opening to the sewer. The hole that Madeline climbed through now
has a tire stuck in it. The car leans to one side as the tire is literally stuck
in the hole. The aliens look at him and say "That should give the creature ample
time to find and kill her." He smiles as gets out of the car. "As long as it
gets me back to Earth, I don't care who you kill." he says as he walks away from
the car.
There is a throbbing pain in her head as consciousness
returns to Madeline. She rubs her eyes as she struggles to get up. She feels
something odd below her and she moves her hand to feel around to figure out what
it is. It feels scaly and cold. As she turns her head to look, she realizes that
she is laying next to the creature. It is laying there, knocked out. While she
does not know it, the creature hit the ground first and then she fell on top of
it. So the creature broke her fall and it took the full brunt of the fall. She
screams when she realizes what it is and pushes herself away. She struggles to
get up, but her legs betray her and she finds herself falling backwards. She
hits the ground and a sharp pain goes through her back. As she rubs her hand
along her back, her back feels like one giant bruise. She moves towards the wall
and uses it to help her up. She slowly pushes herself up to her feet. She keeps
her eyes on the creature. It almost looks dead and if not for its chest moving
up and down, she would swear it was dead. As soon as she has her legs back, she
moves over to the other side of the alley and starts to walk past the creature.
Her eyes never leave the creature as she moves towards the street. When she gets
to the street, she looks around for any other people, but it is deserted. This
makes her nervous as there is always people walking around. She then turns and
looks back at the creature. It is still laying there. She breathes a sigh of
relief as she watches it lay there. But her relief is short lived as the
creature starts moving. She covers her mouth to keep from screaming as it slowly
gets up onto its feet. She then starts to run as the creature turns and sees
her. This prompts it to continue its pursuit, though it is moving slower than
before. The fall did hurt it as it is walking slower and looks to be in some
pain. As Madeline runs down the street, she screams for help. She keeps running
as fast as she can and ignores the shooting pain in her ankle. She keeps
screaming for help, but no one comes to her aid. She turns to see the creature
coming after her. Unlike her, the creature seems to be getting better and its
speed is increasing. She has a decent lead on him but it is quickly evaporating.
For each step she takes, the creature seems to take two steps. She looks left
and right as she runs, hoping something or someone will show up and save her.
She has fought so hard and struggled so much to keep alive this long but it
looks like her time is running out.
The only sounds heard through the sewer is the sounds of
splashing steps. Splash, splash, splash is the only sounds that are echoing
through the sewer. Each step makes a loud sound as there is no other sounds. It
is quite odd as the sewers are usually full of sounds of rats running and gators
bellowing. But with the gators dead and the rats hiding, there is only the sound
of splashing feet. The King is grumbling as he walks through the dark, smelly
water. Batboy is not any happier as his fur is wet and it only adds to the
stink. But they keep walking in the darkness, hoping to find another way out.
Neither one talks as they are both miserable. They want out and they want out
now. But they see no lights ahead. Just more dark tunnels. The King wants to
turn around and head back. He has had enough of this sewer. The smells are
suffocating him. The darkness is driving him crazy. But he thinks about Madeline
and how much she needs him. She has become so much more than just a client. He
feels for her in a way that he has never felt for anyone before. He knows deep
in the pit of his stomach that it is love, but he tries to fight the feeling.
They are from different worlds and if she survives this ordeal, she will surely
return to her world. All that will be left is a memory and you cannot love a
memory. But he cannot control his heart and knowing that she is in trouble gives
him the strength to carry on. It allows him to push aside the fatigue and the
discomfort of being drenched in sewer water and keep going. He must find her. As
they come to another bend in the sewer, they stop to rest. Both of them are
exhausted and they need a breather. Before they can catch their breath, a
strange feeling comes over them. They both begin to glow for a few seconds and
then they disappear. Before they know what is going on, they rematerialize on
the alien's spaceship. They look at each other, wondering what is going on. At
that moment, the aliens comes into the room. "We were able to locate you and
teleported you to the ship. We are now going to save Madeline." The King looks
at them with an exhausted look on his face and says "Thank you, thank you very
much."
The pain in her side from running hurts, but the pain in her
ankle is unbearable. Every step is worse that last as she keeps running on the
injured ankle. She keeps looking back at the creature that is now only ten feet
behind her. She knows it will catch her in the next minute. It will kill her and
there is nothing that she can do. She keeps pushing on, but her legs finally
give out. She collapses to the ground and falls on all fours. She rolls over and
looks up at the creature that stops right in front of her and smiles. It then
lifts it clawed hand and prepares to kill her. She covers her face with her
hands and closes her eyes. She is going to die and there is nothing she can do.
As she braces for the worst, she instead hears a loud crackling sound and feels
an extreme heat. This must be what dying feels like. She opens her eyes to see
if she is in the afterlife. Instead of some wonderful afterlife, she sees that
she is still in Tabloid. The creature lays on the ground with a big hole in its
chest and smoke rising from it. She turns to see who saved her and she sees a
fleet of spaceships floating in the air. There are at least ten identical flying
saucers flying up there. She just lays there and watches them as they land in
the empty streets. As each one lands, a set of stairs descends from the craft
and some aliens come out. They walk over to her and ask "Are you all right?" She
smiles and says "If you are the good aliens, then I am." The alien looks at her
and says "We are the good aliens. The bad aliens have been captured and will be
taken back for sentencing." He then offers his hand and says "Let me help you
up." She grabs his thin but strong hand and is quickly pulled up. As she puts
weight on her bad ankle, she stumbles. The alien looks at her and says "Have you
been wounded?" She smiles as she shifts the weight to her good ankle and says "I
think I sprained my ankle." He then motions to another alien, who comes over and
takes a device and shines it on her leg. A red light comes out of the strange
device and bathes her leg. Within seconds, she feels the pain leave and she
shifts her weight back onto the leg and finds it supports her with no problems.
"Thanks, that's much better." He then says "Come with me, we have some
unfinished business to take care of." She follows him as they board the first
spaceship. One by one, the aliens return to their craft and rise into the air.
Within minutes, they fly off and disappear from sight. As they leave, the people
of Tabloid start to come back out. Within minutes the streets are teeming with
the celebrities and creatures of the tabloids.
After a short drive, the aliens arrive at an enormous ship
that is floating above the city of Tabloid. It is high enough in the sky that
the citizens cannot see it. She is impressed with the sheer size of the ship. It
looks similar to a giant battleship on earth as it floats there. They fly to the
top and land on what looks like a giant deck. The ship lands perfectly on a
giant circle on the deck. There are a dozen such circles on the deck, each one
evenly spaced out. They make up two rows of six circles. The space ships each
land on one of the circles. As soon as they land, the circle begins to descend
into the hull of the ship and they find themselves in the interior of the ship.
The slowly descend to a holding area for the ships. The ship is gently placed
down where a beam comes out and pulls it off the circle. It is put on a belt
that slowly moves it along and the circle then slowly returns to the top of the
ship. The belt moves the ship into a room full of other ships. As it comes to a
stop, the steps descend to the floor. The aliens motion to her to follow and
they leave the ship. She walks with them to a room and the lead alien holds up
his hand and a door opens. They then walk through and inside are three aliens
sitting at a table. They wear strange robes that makes them stand out from the
other aliens who wear nothing. She is guessing they are the head aliens. They
motion for her to sit down in front of them. As she sits down, they all look at
her. As she stares at them, she can see by their skin tone that they are much
older than the other aliens. Their skin is looser and shows some wrinkling where
the other aliens have smooth, tight skin. Even their eyes look a little
different. They are not as black and shiny as the other aliens. They are a
little duller in color and less shiny. "Madeline, we have been informed of your
unfortunate experience. We want to offer our deepest apologies." She tries to
smile but she is very tired. "Thank you for saving me from that creature." she
replies. "It was the least we could do. But now we need to talk about your
future." one of the aliens says. The tired smile from her face leaves as she
does not like the sound of this. "What future? Aren't you going to return me to
Earth?" The aliens look at her with the same expressionless eyes as the younger
aliens. "If that is what you choose, we can return you to Earth. But..." Before
the alien can finish his sentence, she jumps in and says "But what? Why can't I
just return to my life?" The aliens pause to let her finish and then once they
are satisfied that she is done, one of the speaks up "You can return to Earth,
but the alien has killed numerous Earth people while mimicking you." She looks
at them and says "I know it's a phaser. But can't you fix that?" They look at
each other and then reply "How would you propose we fix that?" She is now upset.
These aliens have the technology to create an entire world and its people, but
they cannot change the events that have ruined her life. "Can't you go back in
time and fix it or erase the events out people's minds or go to earth and
explain it to the authorities?" They all look at each other and then they answer
"It is not that easy. We have rules that we need to adhere to." She then stands
up and yells at them "Screw your rules. Where were these rules when that
creature switched places with me and ruined my life?" There is a long silence as
they wait for her to calm down and sit back down. It takes a few minutes as she
slams her hand on the table and walks in a circle, huffing and puffing. When she
realizes that nothing is happening, she sits back down. "We apologize for what
happened and we understand your anger. We have some possible solutions for you
to consider. The first is we could set up a new life for you. We could alter
your identity and let you return to Earth." She looks upset as she liked who she
was. Granted, she wasn't the writer she hoped but she was young and there was
still time. And what about her family? Did she just forget they ever existed?
"What are the other options?" The aliens look at each other. They figured she
would take that option. But she wants to know all your choices, so they tell
her. "You could return to our planet and live among us or you could stay her on
Tabloid." She then leans back on the chair and looks up at the ceiling. "Not
exactly the choices I was hoping for." The aliens then look at each other as
they wait for her answer. After a few minutes of Madeline staring at the
ceiling, one of the aliens speaks up. "So Madeline, what is your choice."
Madeline sits at a large desk and is typing on a computer.
The desk is in a large office with a large window behind her desk. There is a
city in the background and the window offers a nice view of the city. The office
appears to be at least five floors up. On the desk is her computer, a coffee
mug, a small gold nameplate that reads "Editor" and a pile of papers. She is
typing away when a message comes through an intercom on her desk. "The first
edition is off the presses, want me to bring up a copy?" the female voice says
as it comes through the small speaker on the intercom. She pushes a button and
answer back "Please send it right up." She then hits a button and sits back. She
grabs her cup of coffee off the desk and takes a long drink. The mug says "#1
Editor" on it. She sets it back down and smiles. The phone then rings. "Hello!
Yeah, the first issue is done. Celebrate? Sounds great. Let's grab some dinner.
See you in a few minutes." She puts the phone down and smiles. Life is good.
There is a knock on the door and she yells "Come on in." Britney Spears comes in
and drops a copy of a newspaper on the desk. As Britney starts walking out,
Madeline calls out "Ms. Spears, can you hold my calls? I will be going out to
lunch today." Britney smiles and says "Yes, Ms. Bright. Will that be all?"
Madeline smiles at her and says "Yeah, that will be all." She picks up the
newspaper and reads the heading "Tabloid Times." She smiles at it and then turns
to the first page and reads the small box that says "Chief Editor - Madeline
Bright." There is another knock on the door and she yells "Come in." In walks
The King and he is carrying a dozen red roses. "Congrats on the first issue!
These are for you." She stands up and takes the flowers and smells them. The
sweet aroma fills her nostrils and brings a smile to her face. "Thanks for the
flowers." she says. "Anything for my little darlin." he says as he goes into an
Elvis pose. She then goes over and kisses him on the lips and says "Elvis really
didn't talk like that." He smiles at her and says "Yeah, but the King does. Now
let's get some dinner." They both walk out the door, smiling and with their arms
around each other. Madeline then turns around and says "Who says a girl can't
have it all?" She then winks and they head out the door.
The End
Tabloid © Tom Zjaba 1994 - 2009